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Ancient Wreck Revisited: High Tech Team Dives For 80% 1.5 BWR PD JAN/FEB 80% 1.5 BWR PD JAN/FEB 02 02 0 56698 70424 9 0 56698 70424 9 80% 1.5 BWR PD 80% 1.5 BWR PD 80% 1.5 BWR PD MAR APR/MAY JUNE 80% 1.5 BWR PD 80% 1.5 BWR PD 80% 1.5 BWR PD MAR APR/MAY JUNE 03 05 06 03 05 06 0 56698 70424 9 0 56698 70424 9 0 56698 70424 9 0 56698 70424 9 0 56698 70424 9 0 56698 70424 9 80% 1.5 BWR PD 80% 1.5 BWR PD 80% 1.5 BWR PD JULY/AUG SEPT DEC 80% 1.5 BWR PD 80% 1.5 BWR PD 80% 1.5 BWR PD JULY/AUG SEPT DEC 08 09 12 PM40063683 APPS BEST DIVE CROCODILES AMERICAN The longest-establishedscubadivingmagazineinNorthAmerica ANCIENT WRECK Inside: 08 09 12 POST 0 56698 70424 9 0 56698 70424 9 0 56698 70424 9 P RODUCTION Plus: OCEAN 0 56698 70424 9 0 56698 70424 9 0 56698 70424 9 Holds untold treasures A VIDEO FRAMINGRE TL AS DEVIL’s GROTTO GATEFOL F LECTIONS BELOW D TO BERM S FASH UA $5.95 N H D O OOTING ER LATEST GEAR LATEST RY WRECK W HALE SHARK Volume 39 Volume W ION TER Number 8 Plus: Return to Antikythera PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRETT SEYMOUR / RETURN TO ANTIKYTHERA 2014 A ncient Wreck Revisited HIGH TECH TEAM DIVES FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURE 18 Magazine www.divermag.com 19 Return to Antikythera iece by remarkable from Greece, the United States and Top left: One to speak of treasure but in this case, This year the Australian Centre up, the ‘boulder’ turned out to be a piece the ancient ship Australia, using state-of-the-art of the project it’s actually a treasure ship and there for Marine Robotics deployed its The mechanism is too complex to be statue of Heracles, a.k.a. Hercules, is revealing itself to technology to collect new data and dive platforms. are just no two ways about it.” autonomous underwater vehicle now in the National Archaeological Bottom left: artifacts that, increasingly, suggest a one-off prototype. It had to be one Museum in Athens. Further sonar scientists who say the Patmos Harbor, (AUV) Sirius, equipped with a full long lost wreck and investigators have only just scratched Antikythera, the Deep Challenge suite of oceanographic instruments, link in a chain of development work in 2012 confirmed the the archaeological the surface of the unique site. project operations Foley is a research specialist at including a high-resolution stereo presumed locations of the relocated treasures she is giving “We estimate 75 percent of all the base. Top right: the Woods Hole Oceanographic camera, strobes and multibeam boulders, which for the time being Pup are opening a window on the artifacts remain in the sediments,” Project lead Institute in Massachusetts, and sonar. The AUV completed a baseline “If we can come away from this remain on the ocean floor. past unlike any previous discoveries. Antikythera research program diver Alexandros heads up the Antikythera research survey of the site, the data from important site with a very, very The Exosuit put humans with Named for the Greek island that co-director, Dr. Brendan Foley, Sotiriou. Bottom effort in tandem with co-director Dr. which produced a 3D map showing good map and a much better their critical faculties to work at marks her grave, the Antikythera told DIVER. Considering the trove right and opposite Theotokis Theodoulou, a maritime the work area in detail and revealing understanding of the layout of the the deep site, for the first time in a wreck is of unknown origin, resisting of ancient treasures recovered page: a 2,200 year archaeologist in the Ephorate of that it’s larger than first thought. wreck, from that data we can begin marine archaeology context. With old bronze spear since discovery by Greek sponge “Site mapping is the crucial first to pose new questions to drive the articulating arms and legs, and identity for more than a century, recovered this Underwater Antiquities (EUA) of and previous scrutiny that includes divers in 1900, Foley says the site year and thought the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and step in any archaeological project,” research forward,” he said. thrusters, the aluminum alloy hard a 1976 expedition led by diving is already unprecedented for the to be part of a Sports. Both men are experienced Foley said, explaining that it puts the The multibeam sonar identified suit allows its occupant freedom of pioneer Jacques Cousteau, whose variety, quality, and sheer number large scale statue technical divers and the two project artifacts into a context that shows archaeological targets at the movement on dives to 1,000 feet television documentary, Diving of artifacts that it has relinquished. archaeologists who were trained to their spatial relationship across site and in deeper water. The (305m), extending dive time at the for Roman Plunder, presents one But ongoing fieldwork has made pilot the expedition’s advanced deep the wreck and seabed area to be researchers knew that during the wreck site from minutes to hours. colourful backstory for the vessel it clear, “We’ve only just begun to diving Exosuit, along with select dive explored. To illustrate he said that in original salvage operations in 1900- The one atmosphere Exosuit also and its luxurious cargo. coax information from this wreck,” team members who are Greek Navy one area of the wreck site 230 by 130 01, large boulders had been dragged rules out the decompression related The latest exploratory mission – he said, adding that it just may be SEALs, Navy Petty Officers and feet (70x40m) they shot more than into deeper water to make the wreck injury and death suffered by some of September 15 to October 7 of this the most important, most famous Previous pages: civilian technical divers. 30,000 overlapping digital images site more accessible. One of them the skilled hardhat divers who took year – was the most ambitious to date, shipwreck from antiquity. Hellenic Navy At 200 plus feet (60-70m) the subsequently formed into a single was raised, almost sinking the turns sharing a single rubberized involving an international team of 35 “We’re hardcore scientists and safety divers with wreck site is not easily reached using photomosaic in which each pixel salvage ship in the process, but the suit and brass helmet during that archaeologists, divers and technicians archaeologists,” he said. “We hate the Exosuit conventional SCUBA equipment. represents less than 0.15 inch (4mm). effort proved worthwhile. Cleaned original recovery operation in 20 Magazine www.divermag.com 21 Return to Antikythera Lead diver Alexandros Sotiriou with ‘lagynos’ ceramic jug and bronze rigging ring Artifact: © National Archaeological Museum, Athens / Courtesy: Courtesy: / Archaeological Athens National Museum, Artifact: © Archaeological Receipts Fund of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports 1900-01. Given the equipment and where the ancient ship likely met its Below: Sculpture construction evident in the hull decompression practice of the end. Underwater, the cliffs are not from 1901 dives planks tell us this was a huge vessel, day, their salvage work stands as a conducive to laterally moving AUVs Opposite: WHOI twice the size of any ancient wreck Diving Safety remarkable achievement. conducting sonar and photographic Officer Ed I’ve investigated,” Foley said. “The All members of this year’s dive surveys. Of the site, Foley says, “It’s O’Brian piloting evidence shows this is the largest exploration team were trained on inhospitable.” the Exosuit ancient shipwreck ever discovered. closed circuit rebreathers, first Though the 2014 expedition It’s the Titanic of the ancient world.” used during the 2012 operation. experienced bad weather with only Dating from 70 to 60 BC, it’s Offering longer dive times and five of 23 days suitable for diving thought the ship carried its cargo shorter decompression, rebreathers operations, the team achieved every of luxury goods, including bronze outperform open circuit SCUBA project goal ahead of schedule and and marble statues, jewelry, coins, as used by Cousteau and his team with a more detailed understanding glassware, even furniture, on a decades before. Foley recalls: of what the site holds, scientists journey from Asia Minor westwards “Once we were trained on the were able to allocate time preparing to Rome. Antikythera is directly rebreathers none of us wanted to go Ministry of Culture laboratories along this shipping route and, the back to SCUBA.” The rebreathers to handle all that’s retrieved reasoning goes, the vessel sank have proven to be a game changer from the site. in a storm strong enough to working the deep wreck site. Among items recovered smash it against the island’s this year were pieces of cliffs. Human remains Titanic of Ancient World the shipwreck itself. The recovered in the past The Antikythera wreck is regarded team raised several lead include those of a woman as something of an archaeological anchors, each more than and this has given rise to Holy Grail. The site is at the three feet (1m) in length another theory for the richly- crossroads of the Aegean and and a bronze rigging ring. laden ship: that of a soon-to- Mediterranean seas on a busy Together with hull planks be-married woman of means, THIS IS THE LARGEST ancient world sea-lane. It’s a 4.3 inches (11cm) thick, en route to her betrothed challenging site to investigate for raised by the Cousteau and with dowry in hand, so ANCIENT SHIpwRECK many reasons, not least because divers, evidence suggests to speak.
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